Transportation News

January, 2009 Transportation Report

And Bice Rd Tunnel Study Session Report

Public Transportation

The public transportation committee is waiting to receive an application for the 5310 grant in order to continue to the process of possible application for a van.  The official applicant would be the BC Adult Center per grant requirements.  LTAFF II funding has been requested from Yavapai County in order to support a grant award. This is premature, but planning needs to be done at least a year in advance.  The committee has also been seeking advice and information from the Verde Valley Adult Center which has been through the process twice.

Verde Valley Multimodal Transportation Study

This study will replace the 1999 Verde Valley Transportation Plan and projects needs through 2015 and 2030.  Yavapai County invites us to attend a choice of three open houses in order to provide input on the findings, conclusions, and draft recommendations. The study has developed a roadway element and identified funding options, and has been coordinated with public transportation and trails planning. A slide presentation will be given at 5:45 PM at each location.

            Camp Verde:  Jan. 13, 5:30 -7:30 PM, 395 S Main St

            Cottonwood:  Jan. 14, 5:30 – 7:30 PM, YC Annex, 10 S 6^th St

            Sedona:  Jan. 15, 5:30 – 7:30 PM, City Council, 102 Roadrunner Dr

All of the 1999 Verde Valley projects have been completed or are in progress with the exception of the two for our area, the second access for Lake Montezuma and the improvement of FR 119 (the road past the entrance to Montezuma Well).  In a previous draft both these projects appeared, but were listed as one or the other but not both. The priorities of these requests were not listed.  Requests from our area for other projects were not addressed favorably in other drafts.

This may be our last chance to comment.  Please attend or contact Phil Bourdon at 928-771-3183 or phil.bourdon@co.yavapai.az.us.

Stimulus Infrastructure Package from US Government

As continued from the December report, the transportation committee strongly recommends that a list of requests from this region be sent to federal and state representatives and our Yavapai County District III Supervisor.

Bice Rd Tunnel Study Session Report

Tunnel:  14’ wide, 16’ high, 100+’ length, traffic volume (daily) estimate for 2015 is 1,495.

DTL:  The study session was held Tuesday, December 2, at 1 PM in the Montezuma-Rimrock Fire Station.

Present:  Dallas Hammit, Prescott Division ADOT engineer, Kala Pearson, BCRC President, Sharon Brooks, LMPOA President, Chief Michael Van Dyke, M-R Fire District, Ed and Carol Seiler and Patty Neizel, Bice Rd area residents, and Janet Aniol, transportation committee chair.

Recommendations:

1. Solar lighting to be installed near both entrances to provide night time lighting with the approval of ADOT.

2. BCRC to request Yavapai County to apply for a PARA (Planning Assistance for Rural Areas) for the Beaver Creek area to include the study of the possible benefits and feasibility of the Billy Dabbs tunnel bypass (under the Dry Beaver Creek Bridge near McGuireville and a low-water crossing in the vicinity of Kimberly’s Way as a potential secondary access to the Bice Rd area

3. Bice Rd area residents to obtain a permit from ADOT to use the tunnel as a legal access

4. Bice Rd area residents to form an area association

Related Outcome:

Mr. Hammit (ADOT) has offered Yavapai County the 8,000 cubic yards of milling in 2010 from the ADOT McGuireville TI safety project.  He suggests that they might be used for Bice Rd improvements.  There may be further millings available from the Flagstaff Rest stop project.

Assignments:

1. Bice Rd participants (Patty Neitzel and Ed and Carol Seiler) will request Yavapai County to get a permit from ADOT for legal access to their properties through this tunnel.  (Mr. Hamitt checked and found that this had not been done previously.)

2.  Kala Pearson, BCRC, to seek Dept of Energy project grant (partnering with ADOT) for the solar lighting (or similar small grant). She will request letters of support from the fire and school districts by the second week in January.  (This project does not meet the requirements of the SAFETEA-LU grant)

3. Transportation committee to send written request to Phil Bourdon, YC Public Works, to contact Dallas Hammit, Prescott ADOT, to accept the 2010 millings and receive them on an environmentally cleared site. This does not need an IGA.

Requested action from BCRC:

Formally request Yavapai County to submit a PARA proposal for a Beaver Creek area transportation planning study in early 2009.

Follow-up:  Via phone and email in late January to see where we are with the assignments.